My Journey of 368 days (+ The Ultimate Guide for WK 📖 )

[Naphthalene]

@kyouxren

Perhaps no 368 days any more?

Well, that wasn’t the fastest possible anyway. I think that used to be something like 360 days? After the overhaul, new fast levels got created and some removed. So overall, I’d say it hasn’t changed much, anyway.

[Pep95]

Oh new ones have been created?! Exciting!

[jprspereira]

@survenant

Hi!
Thank you so much for posting this guide. I’ve been debating committing to this and I feel inspired.

Hey! I hope that this reply will bring you back to the forums so that you can give WK another try! I really appreciate that the guide inspired you

@DarkMelody42

Learning how to use the override script saved my life. I type too fast and will often make a stupid mistake where I type in hiragana instead of English or English instead of hiragana or will make a typo. This has made my leveling up so much harder and confused me in times when I thought the answer should have been correct only to realize I hit the wrong button. Thank you so much for this, it is incredibly useful and much appreciated!!!

Definitely! The fact that you can reword the same concept in different ways is another reason why I love override. I could be right, I just wrote the same concept in a different way. No need to get it wrong then

@DarkMelody42

It is so worth it! I am almost to level 6 and I have seen so much growth in my vocabulary. I am able to start picking things out in anime now and I’m getting decent at reading on a kindergarten level with Genki and Lingo Deer supplementing my workload.

How are things going for you?

@out-spaced

I only came looking for userscript recommendations but ended up reading the whole thing. Aside from having a bit of a break between levels 3 and 4 while deciding whether to commit to a subscription, I was achieving the early levels within 6 to 9 days using the stock WK experience. Things started going downhill when at level 7, that’s when I started noticing leeches (almost exclusively on readings, I don’t seem to be struggling with meanings at all) so looking for advice on scripts is how I got here.

Anyway I’m now following your advice and will be back in a month with an update. Thanks for providing such a comprehensive description of your experience and explaining the userscripts

You’re level 11 now! Well done! How are things going for you? Anything in particular that you’re struggling? Still enjoying WK as much?

@Naphthalene

Well, that wasn’t the fastest possible anyway. I think that used to be something like 360 days? After the overhaul, new fast levels got created and some removed. So overall, I’d say it hasn’t changed much, anyway.

Currently there’s 1 more fast level, compared to when I reached level 60. However, some people might have still got 26 as a fast one + the new ones, turning that into quite a nice bonus. Possible max speed (6d20h + 3d10h levels at all times) is 345 days if my math isn’t wrong.

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Again, sorry that I’ve taken this long to reply to this thread. Somehow I only noticed these messages yesterday? I’ve changed something in the settings, might work now

[seanblue]

Frankly, I’m still disappointed that it took you over a year to complete WaniKani. I mean really, what is the world coming to?

Took two and a half years.

[Naphthalene]

@jprspereira

Currently there’s 1 more fast level

It’s gone already! One of the new kanji (from the last batch I think) made level 41 into a regular level again.

[jprspereira]

@Naphthalene

It’s gone already! One of the new kanji (from the last batch I think) made level 41 into a regular level again.

There’s still 43 and 44 since the overhaul. Because 26 is no longer a fast level, it’s +1.

@seanblue

Frankly, I’m still disappointed that it took you over a year to complete WaniKani. I mean really, what is the world coming to?

And apparently it’s going to take me that long to add your scripts to the guide

it won’t actually, as I’ve been rewriting it bit by bit every other day. Scripts are next

[Leo-Tyrant]

@jprspereira

Hi! First of all, thank you for all of the work you have contributed to this community. I’m very new here but I already see your responses and the great impact you have generated in a lot of topics and questions.

I have some question for you, If I may:

I apologize and thank you in advance for this request, I just want to have someone with a lot of experience validate my approach.

• Time-frames: I work from 8 am till 5 pm, Monday till Friday. Would you recommend studding at 7 am (lessons-reviews), then around 11:30 am, then around 10 pm? (3 times per day)

• WaniKani config: I believe the default config is optimal for knowledge retention, so I’m not really interested in switching things around and risking retention for speed. But maybe I’m wrong and there are small things I can optimize?

• Amount of lessons per day: I have been doing them all as soon as they show up, or at least during the same day they appear. This means that I’m doing 40-50 lessons some days. Its not bad, after 2-3 reviews I get them all but should I space them out ?

[jprspereira]

@Leo-Tyrant

Hi! First of all, thank you for all of the work you have contributed to this community. I’m very new here but I already see your responses and the great impact you have generated in a lot of topics and questions.

Appreciate the kind words

@Leo-Tyrant

Time-frames: I work from 8 am till 5 pm, Monday till Friday. Would you recommend studding at 7 am (lessons-reviews), then around 11:30 am, then around 10 pm? (3 times per day)

If it works for you schedule-wise, why not I’d say that the 4h interval is more important than the 8h one and I haven’t had much problem with postponing the 8h interval for 2 or 3 more hours. Try it and see if if works, but I think it will be fine

@Leo-Tyrant

WaniKani config: I believe the default config is optimal for knowledge retention, so I’m not really interested in switching things around and risking retention for speed. But maybe I’m wrong and there are small things I can optimize?

If you’re talking about scripts, I’d say they are perfectly fine. You can still optimize your WK experience without going faster. A lot of scripts (Like Jitai, pitch info and visually similar kanji) just make your learning experience more complete, not the opposite (ruin it). If you’re afraid of “cheating” the system, just avoid the “override” and the “reorder” scripts. Everything else just adds more to your experience as a learner

@Leo-Tyrant

Amount of lessons per day: I have been doing them all as soon as they show up, or at least during the same day they appear. This means that I’m doing 40-50 lessons some days. Its not bad, after 2-3 reviews I get them all but should I space them out ?

I do believe so. Wanikani is a system of routine. By doing lessons spread out and on a daily basis, not only are you reinforcing your habits and improving your consistency around WK, but you’re not overdoing yourself. Remember that learning Japanese is not just learning kanji (what Wanikani is for). You still need to learn grammar, vocab outside Wanikani, read native content, etc. You don’t need to do all lessons as soon as they show up to level up faster, so it’s my opinion that you should conserve energy for other things. Also, if you do lessons in big piles, this means that big piles of reviews will also show up. This in the long-term will lead to having days with a huge amount of reviews, which you might want to avoid.

Hope I was clear enough Let me know if I can help you in any other way possible

[Leo-Tyrant]

Thank you so much for the detailed response. I’m aligned with your recommendations.

What scripts would you recommend? Can you provide quick context on what would I “gain” from adding one or more of them, compared to the regular WK experience?

Only if you have the time of course, you have already helped me greatly.

Thanks!

[Samraku]

@jprspereira

If you’re afraid of “cheating” the system, just avoid the “override” and the “reorder” scripts. Everything else just adds more to your experience as a learner

Never Wrong is a good script which adds more to your experience as a learner.

[DarkMelody42]

Thanks for the reply. I slacked off really bad this summer but I’m hoping to get back to the grind. I’ve powered through my 500 waiting words and am back to a reasonable level. I need to restart Lingo deer to refresh grammar though. I’m also hoping to lead a Japanese club at the school I teach at and start helping students learn some Japanese. I won’t be able to teach them perfectly which is why it’s a club instead of a class but I would love for me and my students to all pass the N5 or N4 test so I can say I did it and they can have it on a college application.

[jprspereira]

@Leo-Tyrant

What scripts would you recommend? Can you provide quick context on what would I “gain” from adding one or more of them, compared to the regular WK experience?

Both your questions are answered on the 2nd post of this thread (my guide), where I have an extensive list of scripts I used, ordered by importance and with descriptions of what they can add to your experience. Please check chapter 7.

My Journey of 368 days (+ The Ultimate Guide for WK )

The Ultimate Guide to Wanikani Become the best version of your Wanikanian self. For newbies: Please read the WaniKani User Guide first before reading this. WK’s User Guide teaches you the very basics. My Guide turns you from a newbie with basic knowledge to a master. However, first, you need the basics. This Guide is really longgggggggg. You can read it all in one go, but there’s no need to if you don’t want to. Think of it as the place to come to when in doubt/need of help. Thanks …

@Samraku

Never Wrong is a good script which adds more to your experience as a learner.

I wonder if this still works after all this time

@DarkMelody42

I’ve powered through my 500 waiting words and am back to a reasonable level

Don’t worry about starting right away with lessons. Give yourself a few days of consistent reviewing and then slowly warm that machine

@DarkMelody42

I need to restart Lingo deer to refresh grammar though.

My experience with “starting things” tells me that we spent a lot of energy and time thinking about starting and that we’d feel so much better to actually start and use that same energy to learn. I’d say throw yourself at it. Just 1 lesson is good. It’s important to unlock that wall between thinking of starting and actually starting asap

@DarkMelody42

I’m also hoping to lead a Japanese club at the school I teach at and start helping students learn some Japanese. I won’t be able to teach them perfectly which is why it’s a club instead of a class but I would love for me and my students to all pass the N5 or N4 test so I can say I did it and they can have it on a college application.

Ohh, that’s such a great project! Congratz! Are there many students interested? Please update me with how that goes

[Leo-Tyrant]

Thank you for the clarification! I think I needed clarity on the “ordered by importance”. This is great, thanks again.

[DarkMelody42]

Right now I have 3 but I’m hoping to get a few more. To start I don’t want over ten but we will see how it goes. I’m pulling students from the board game and dnd group I run. Our goal is to take jplt next year and get the students to at least N5

[_Mashira]

What happened on level 58?
3 days and 9 hours… How is that possible

[jprspereira]

@_Mashira

What happened on level 58?
3 days and 9 hours… How is that possible

An example:

If you do lessons at 1:30pm, you’re supposed to have them for reviews 4h later (5:30pm). However, WK unlocks items at the start of a hour, which makes it into 5pm. In actuality, one would only wait 3h30mins for the 1st review.

This is most likely what happened. Theoretically, the minimum is 3d10h. But due to this “trick”, it can sometimes be less.

[_Mashira]

But those lessons were unlocked at 1:00pm, so reviews at 5:00 pm is still 4 hours later…? I feel like I’m missing something xD

[jprspereira]

@_Mashira

But those lessons were unlocked at 1:00pm

Not necessarily. I could have leveled up at 1:30pm.

[_Mashira]

So if I understand correctly… So you could have leveled up at 1:00… But ofcourse that extra hour is added to level 57, so that’s why level 58 is “one hour short”?

[jprspereira]

@_Mashira

So if I understand correctly… So you could have leveled up at 1:00… But ofcourse that extra hour is added to level 57, so that’s why level 58 is “one hour short”?

Yup The time was just added to the previous level